Message for U.S. Citizens: New Entry Requirements to the United States Starting November 8.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  has announced a new Order for all air passengers traveling to the United States. Effective November 8, 2021, all nonimmigrant, non-citizen air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to the United States.

U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who are eligible to travel but are not fully vaccinated will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test one (1) day before their flight’s departure. U.S citizens and LPRs who are fully vaccinated will need to present airlines with proof of vaccination and of a negative COVID-19 test three (3) days before their flight.  Both nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as a PCR test, and antigen tests qualify. This is the same standard for qualifying tests that has applied to the pre-departure testing requirement since January. The test must be administered no more than three calendar days before the date of the international flight to the United States. If a traveler is departing for the United States at 10 PM on January 19, they would have to present a negative test result for a test that was taken any time after 12:01 AM on January 16.

Both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated should travel with proof of their vaccination status to provide to their airline prior to departure to the United States. That proof of vaccination should be a paper or digital record issued by an official source and should include the traveler’s name and date of birth, as well as the vaccine product and date(s) of administration for all doses the traveler received. CDC has determined that for purposes of travel to the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines. See here  for more information.

Children between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test. If a child is not fully vaccinated and traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, they can show proof of a negative viral test from a sample taken within three days before departure (consistent with the timeline for fully vaccinated adults). If an unvaccinated child is traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults, they will have to show proof of a negative viral test from a sample taken within one day of departure. While children under 2 years of age are excepted from the testing requirement, CDC recommends a pre-departure test for these children whenever possible.

Exceptions to this policy will be extremely limited. Details on exceptions and waivers due to humanitarian concerns, is available at Non-U.S. citizen, Non-U.S. immigrants: Air Travel to the United States | CDC. 

Actions to Take:

  • All U.S. citizens should enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and ensure you can be located in an emergency.
  • Visit our Embassy webpage on COVID-19 for information on conditions in Paraguay.
  • Refer to our website for the latest Alerts and Messages for U.S. citizens.
  • Consult the CDC website for the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19. · Visit the COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov for the latest information.
  • Check with your airlines, cruise lines, or travel operators regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
  • Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the United States.

For any additional questions, please contact the U.S. Embassy’s American Citizen Services unit at:

ParaguayACS@state.gov

Assistance: